Author Archives: energyskeptic

The Mayflower from the book The Barbarous Years

Posted on November 30, 2024 by

Preface. It was recently Thanksgiving so I thought I’d post something from Mann’s 1491 about the pilgrims that I later found out was grievously wrong from an expert who gives lectures on the Mayflower history. Here is a more subtle, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Deep Sea Oil

Posted on November 26, 2024 by

Preface. Peak oil was reached in November of 2018, but we aren’t out of oil, just halfway through.  Giant fields continue to be found, but in the deep ocean or arctic where it is expensive to drill. Below are some … Continue reading →

Posted in How Much Left | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Book review of “Livewired. The inside story of the ever-changing brain”

Posted on November 19, 2024 by

Preface. This book conveys a sense of wonderment and awe about our brains work and how we become who we are.  I think if you read the excerpts below you will understand why Artificial Intelligence will probably never come close … Continue reading →

Posted in Artificial Intelligence, Evolution | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Book review of “Livewired. The inside story of the ever-changing brain”

The conveyor belt may be slowing down — Yikes!

Posted on November 12, 2024 by

Preface. The conveyor belt (AMOC: Atlantic meridional overturning circulation) may be slowing down. If it stops, floods, increased sea level rise, and disturbed weather systems. Until recently the IPCC and other scientists didn’t think this might happen until 2300 or … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Peak Food, Sea Level Rise | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The conveyor belt may be slowing down — Yikes!

Battery Energy storage batteries (BESS) too complex to ever be commercial

Posted on November 5, 2024 by

Source: RWE connects its first utility-scale battery storage project to the California grid Preface.  In 2024 if all of the BESS battery storage time were added up, they could store 8 of the 8,760 hours of annual electricity generated in … Continue reading →

Posted in Battery - Utility Scale | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Battery Energy storage batteries (BESS) too complex to ever be commercial

New war and energy alliances over next resource wars

Posted on October 29, 2024 by

Preface. My greatest fear is nuclear war over the remaining resources on earth, since that has the potential of driving us extinct.  I don’t believe there are enough fossil fuels left to do that via climate change because world conventional … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East, Over Oil | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Book review of “Siege: Trump Under fire”

Posted on October 25, 2024 by

Preface.  Wolff’s book continues the mordant humor of Fire & Fury.  His books are the best, by far, of the dozens I’ve read about the Trump Administration.  There will never be any books as insightful because Wolff was given unprecedented … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Book review of “Siege: Trump Under fire”

Why do people vote for Trump?

Posted on October 18, 2024 by

Preface. Before the election, it was widely known that Trump was a gangster who bragged about grabbing women’s asses, lied over 30,000 times during his term, went bankrupt 4 times, and much more. So how could people have voted for … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking, Politics | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Book review of “Pandemic Politics: The Deadly Toll of Partisanship in the Age of COVID”

Posted on October 15, 2024 by

Preface.  This is a book review of “Pandemic Politics” about the myriad ways Trump mishandled the covid-19 pandemic. With the 2024 election coming up, it is a good time to remember how spectacularly Trump failed in managing covid-19. In 2016 … Continue reading →

Posted in Pandemics, Political Books, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The evolution of the Republican party from 1960 to 2024: from moderate democracy to extreme authoritarianism

Posted on October 12, 2024 by

Preface (long). Over time the planks grew more and more religious, stopped mentioning voting rights in 1980 as well as a war on regulations, stopped supporting the equal rights for women, could care less about abortion to being against it … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking and Scientific Literacy, Politics, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment